Student banned after online threatsEditor's note: According to Arkansas state law, the media is prohibited from publishing the name of a juvenile unless he or she is formally charged with a felony. The juvenile who appeared during felony bond hearings had not been formally charged as of Wednesday afternoon. HECTOR — A 17-year-old male student has been ordered to stay away from the Hector School District after he was arrested on suspicion of terroristic threatening. The juvenile...

Trojan horse carries Issue 3 campaign through RussellvilleA 10-foot tall, wooden Trojan horse made a pit stop at the Pope County Library on Tuesday. Vote Against Issue 3 paraded the horse throughout the Arkansas River Valley in an effort to raise awareness of what voters can expect on the Nov. 4 ballot. The Arkansas Elected Officials Ethics, Transparency and Financial Reform Amendment, Issue 3 will permit Arkansas legislators to serve a total of 16 years. "We are here to inform voters to vote against...

Severe storms to ignite across Midwest, SouthAccuWeather reports the same system that brought severe weather to the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains on Monday and delivered another round of severe storms to the Plains on Tuesday may cause trouble across parts of the South and Midwest throughout the rest of the week. Thunderstorms erupted from eastern South Dakota to the Texas Panhandle on Tuesday afternoon before weakening and tracking eastward during the overnight hours. Wind gusts ex...

Dr. Marc J. Selverstone to lecture at ATUDr. Marc J. Selverstone, chair of the Miller Center Presidential Recordings Program and associate professor at the University of Virginia, will be the guest speaker for the fourth annual David W. Krueger Lecture at Arkansas Tech University. Selverstone will offer a lecture entitled “Eavesdropping on Escalation: The Kennedy White House Tapes and Vietnam” at 6 p.m. on Oct. 9, in the Doc Bryan Student Services Center Lecture Hall. The event, whic...

News Briefs (Oct. 1, 2014)Opening reception for faculty exhibit The Arkansas Tech University Department of Art will host an opening reception for an exhibit featuring the works of its faculty at 2:30 p.m. today at the Norman Hall Art Gallery.Norman Hall is located on the Arkansas Tech campus in Russellville at 203 W. Q St. The event is free and open to the public. Youth Council meeting The Youth Council of the West Central Arkansas Workforce Investment Board will meet ...

Local priest removed for sexual misconductFather James Melnick was relieved of his responsibilities as pastor of St. Augustine Church in Dardanelle, St. Andrew Church in Danville and associate pastor for Hispanic Ministry at St. John Church in Russellville for sexual misconduct. He is currently suspended from active ministry by the Arkansas Diocese. Bishop Anthony Taylor, Roman Catholic Bishop of Little Rock, told area churches on Saturday and Sunday he received credible allegations o...

Beams set for new gymThe final beam was hoisted into place on the northwest corner of the new Russellville High School gymnasium on Tuesday. Russellville School District (RSD) administrators, faculty and members of the community signed the 27-foot, white beam with red and black markers, leaving their print on the $12.5 million project. The 64,000-sqaure-foot facility is to be completed by Oct. 25, 2015, leaving the RSD community in anticipation and excitement, Sup...

Alderwoman FOIs allianceThe Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAFED) board approved during a called meeting Tuesday morning to respond to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request. Freddie Harris, an alderwoman on the Russellville City Council, submitted the request Thursday afternoon to Jeff Pipkin, who is president of AVAFED and the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce, asking for documents from both entities. The chamber doesn't receive public ...

ATU to host toy drive for tsunami victimsThere are approximately 6,200 miles between the main campus of Arkansas Tech University in Russellville and the region of Japan that was devastated by the tsunami of March 2011. Read the words of Futoshi Toba, major of the city of Rikuzentakata, Japan, and it becomes clear that a pair of English language camps that faculty, staff and students from Arkansas Tech have performed in his grief-stricken land over the past two Augusts have made the t...

Sequoyah additions approved — 9 classrooms, 1 art room will cost around $2 millionThe Russellville Board of Education approved additions to Sequoyah Elementary School after a lengthy discussion during a called meeting Monday. After Van Horn Construction Vice President Chad Weisler reiterated the importance of approving the project soon in order for it to be completed by the first day of school in August 2015, board member Wesley White made a motion to approve a plan that will add 10 rooms to the elementary school. Nine clas...

Bones found under bridge aren’t humanDARDANELLE — After a brief investigation, authorities determined bones found in Yell County on Sunday were not human. The Dardanelle Police Department responded to a call of remains found under the Smiley Bayou bridge on State Highway 27, which is near the Wal-Mart in Dardanelle. The Yell County Sheriff's Office (YCSO) and the Arkansas State Police (ASP) also responded. A preliminary investigation revealed the bones were not human. Dardanelle ...

Bond hearingsThe following individuals appeared during felony bond hearings Monday at the Pope County Detention Center. Their names, ages, anticipated charges and bond amounts are listed. If charged, they will appear Nov. 3 in Circuit Court. • Christopher Bagby, 25, aggravated assault and two counts of second-degree battery of a correction officer — $30,000. Around 9:40 p.m. Saturday, Bagby — who was incarcerated on another matter — punched one correction ...

Ola man killed in motorcycle crashOLA — A Yell County man was killed in a motorcycle crash Saturday morning, according to an Arkansas State Police report. Brian R. Rose, 43, of Ola was killed around 11:46 a.m. when the 2006 Suzuki motorcycle he was driving was struck by a 2004 Toyota Sequoia reportedly driven by a 17-year-old Dardanelle girl. While driving on State Highway 7 south of Gleason Drive in Ola, the teen lost control of the Sequoia and crossed into the northbound lan...

Early voting for runoff beginsEarly voting begins Tuesday for the lone runoff race from the annual school board election. Angie Billingsley Smith and Shawn Bates will vie for the five-year seat on the Dover Board of Education after emerging with the most votes on Sept. 16 from a pool of five candidates. Billingsley Smith garnered a little more than 31 percent of the votes with 131, while Bates racked up just more than 29 percent with 121 votes, according to official result...

News Briefs (Sept. 30, 2014)Cyclones present ‘Boeing Boeing’ The Russellville High School Cyclone Theatre will present the show “Boeing Boeing” at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sunday in the BlackBox of The Center for the Arts. Tickets can be purchased at the door. Seating is limited. Two Rivers school homecoming Friday Two Rivers High School will celebrate homecoming on Friday. The daytime homecoming ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. in the gymnasium a...

Yard sale benefits hospiceHoyle Adams of Russellville recently held a yard sale to benefit local hospice care in honor of his late wife, Frances Adams. The sale was held Sept. 12-13 at Adams’ home. Adams said he was grateful for the wonderful care his wife received at hospice and wanted to give back. Adams presented the check with the proceeds and donations received at the yard sale to the Arkansas Hospice River Valley Home.

Council receives positive reportsSince 1997, the Arkansas Valley Alliance for Economic Development (AVAED) has brought 17 industries to Russellville and the Arkansas River Valley that have produced 950 new jobs, president and CEO Jeff Pipkin told the Russellville City Council during its regular meeting. The city of Russellville has benefited from 25 economic development grants that have totaled $6.5 million, Pipkin said, while the city’s contribution was $1.53 million. “The A...

U of O students assist Lamar science classesUniversity of the Ozarks sophomore Bethany Watts is more than happy to share her love of science, especially with young people. Watts was one of seven students from Dr. Sean Coleman’s Principles of Genetics class that recently presented a science lab to five different science classes at Lamar Middle School. The U of O students brought microscopes and showed the seventh-graders the different components of the equipment and how to use them. They...